Automatic pump-governor



(No Model.)

J. A. STEININGBR. AUTOMATIC PUMPv GOVERNOR.

' Patented Deo. 10, 1889.

IIIIIIIIII naw @XR/Eneco@ (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 2. J. A.STEININGER. AUTOMATIC PUMP GOVERNOR.

N0.417,112. PatentedvDec. 10, 1889.

@woe/who@ .AJM VI @913N/Leones A um Q (No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2i.J. A. STEININGER.

AUTOMATIC PUMP GOVERNOR.

No. 417,112. Patented Dec.- 10, 1889.

Pholo-mhagnphev. wnhingtm. B, l;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB A. STEININGER, OF CRESTON, IOVA.

AUTOMATIC PUMP-GOVERNOR.

`'SIPECIIFICAJTION forming part of Letters Patent No. 417,112, datedDecember 10, 1889.

Application tiled August 1, 1889.

To all whom, it muy concern..-

Be it known that I, JACOB A. STEININGER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Creston, in the county of Union and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvement-s in AutomaticPinup-Governors for Brake Mechanism; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswillenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and tothe lettcrsand figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to devices by which the supply of steam to thepower-generating mechanism of a iiuidpressure brake appara* tus isautomatically cutoff when the pressure in the train-pipe or mainreservoir reaches certain limits and is restored when the pressure ineither falls below a determined limit.

The object of the device is to prevent such an excess of pressure aswould tend to cause the sliding ot' the wheels, and to obviate theunnecessary operation ot' the pump, as well as to provide for theaccumulation ot such surplus of pressure in the main reservoir when thebrakes are applied as will insure their prompt release when required.

A further object is'to insure that the surplus pressure thus accumulatedin the main reservoir shall bear a certain ratio to the reduction ofpressure in the train-pipe, whereby if the train-pipe pressureexcessively reduced thc surplus pressure pumped up shall be greater thanwhen the train-pipe pressure is but slightly reduced, so that in anyevent the train-pipe pressure may be quickly restored with no more thanthe necessary expenditure of steam.

Certain other advantages and capabilities of my invention will appear inconnection with the detailed explanation hereinafter given, and it willbe apparent that my invention is applicable, broadly, to the controllingof a valve by two independent pressurechambers.

The improvement consists, essentially, Ain two movable abutments, eachlocated in a pressure-chamber of its own and connected with a valve insuch a manner that. each has sena No. 319,385. ci@ moda.)

an independent control of the valve, whereby any reduction of thepressure .below the normal in either chamber will cause the valve toopen.

My improvements are shown as applied to. the air-pump governor ot anair-brake-system, tl'iough they are not necessarily confined.r vto thatspeciic kind of brake.

In the drawings, 'Figure l is a full-length vertical section of thepreferred form of governor, the pressure-chambers being relieved frompressure, and the throttle-valve being about to open to start the pump.Fig. 2 is a modification designed to be used when the reduction ofpressure is'to move the stem downward to positively operate athrottlet'alve. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the casing inclosing theadjustable joint uniting the stems, the

slip-cover being in section. Figsc and 49 are modifications in which thestemis in one piece. Fig. 5 shows a rigid stem composed of p two partsadjustably united. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 illustrate the successiveoperations ofthe parts under differentconditions; andFig. El is a detailshowing a modification ot the joint uniting the stems. A The sameletters refer to corresponding parts in the saineiigures.

Steam is appliedto the steam-cylinder of the air-pump through avalve-casingA, enterseats against a face around the delivery side of theopening and is supported' inplace byy a threaded spindle C, a cavity inwliichiife?I ccives the stem b of the valve. projects through astuffing-box to the outside of the casing and is provided with asuitable handle c, by means of which it can be run in' and out throughthe threaded sleeve C. From the upper side of the valve rises a neckI1', the upper part of which is enlarged, forming a cylindrical. headh2, which slides easily in av recess in the valve-casing. Along one sideof the head is formed a groove or port bi". The neel; D is hollow toreceive the stem CZ of an exhaust-valve D, which is held up to its seatCL2 by a helical spring (Z, surrounding the stem d inside of the headb2, which is counterbored to receive it. The valve-stem d is ex- Thespindlef'go t'ended above the valve and is provided with wings to guideit centrally in the passage-way a3, which communicates with theexhaustpipe E. These parts are all old and are found in the automaticair-pump governor in common use. The operation of them is as follows:The spindleC is screwed down so as to permit the throttle-valve B to beunseated by the excess of steam-pressure on the upper side of the valve,permitting steam to pass through the valve-casing to the pump. X/Vhenthe pump is to be stopped, the valve D is unseated, allowing the steamon the upper side of the valve B to escape through the exhaust E, whichcauses an excess of steam-pressure on the lower side of the valve B,forcing the valve to its seat in the septum A and cutting off the supplyof steam to the pump.

My improvements relate to those parts of the governor by which the valveD is automatically seated and the pump started when the pressure in thetrain-pipe or the main reservoir falls below a given point, and, on theother hand, the valve is unseated and the pump stopped when thetrain-pipe or mainreservoir pressures reach said given point, as willnow be described.

In its simplest form my governor consists of two pressure chambers,arranged one above the other and containing movable abutments carried ona rigid stem that passes through both chambers, and is provided with aspring or springs adapted to resist the uuidpressure on the abutments.Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. et, in which the Valve-stem dprojects into the lower chamber F, in which works a movable abutment G,such as a piston, or, preferably, a diaphragm of exible material heldsecurely around its periphery rlhe abutment is carried on a stem H,projecting into the upper part of the chamber F, which is of lesserdiameter than the lower part, and in which is a movable abutmentG-preferablya diaphragm-fastened to the stem H. The space I between thetwo diaphragms constitutes what I term the train-pipe pressure-chamber,being in communication with the train-pipe of the brake system throughthe pipe J. The stem H extends up through a counterbored casing A2,`inwhich is a helical spring H', surrounding the stem and seated on thebottom of the counter-bore. At the top of the casing the stem isscrew-threaded to receive the nut h and the jam-nut h', by means ofwhich the tension of t-he spring can be adjusted, the upper end of thespring bearing against the underside of the nut h. The spring thus tendsto resist any downward pull on the stem H.

Upon the upper end of the casing A2 is secured an open frame A3,preferably composed of two arms, as shown, rising from a threaded sleevescrewed upon the end of the casing A2 and locked by a suitable j am-nut.

Thenuts h h are easily accessible through the open sides of the frameA3, which is provided with a removable slip-cover AG to protect the nutsfrom dirt and from accidental displacement. The frame supports achambered block A4, in which is a movable abutment K. A smaller abutmentK is located in the smaller upper portion of the chamber A4, and bothabutments are carried by the stem H, which projects up into the casingA2. The space I between the two abutments K K constitutes what I callthe main-reservoirpressure chamber, being connected with the mainreservoir by means of the pipe J.l

Since the abutments G and K are of greater area than the abutments G Kany increase of the fluid-pressure in either of the'pressurechambers I Iwill exert a downward pull on the stem. rlhe tension of the spring canbe adjusted to resist this tendency until the unbalanced pressure on theabutments G K exceeds a determined limit, when the stem will descend andopen the exhaust-valve D. In the compressed-air system the normalpressure in the main reservoir is about ninety pounds to the squareinch, which by means of a loaded valve (the feed-valve) in the engineersvalve is reduced to seventy pounds in the train-pipe, the excess oftwenty pounds being retained in the main reservoir to insure a speedyrelease of the brakes. The

total normal unbalanced pressure on the abutl ments G and K is thereforeone hundred and sixty pounds, and the spring H must be strong enough toyield only when these normal pressures have been reached.

The stem H is provided with suitable collars h2, which limit the amountof its vertical play in the chambers. It is preferably about onethirty-second of an inch in practice. y

In the modification shown in Fig. eta the two pressure-chambers arebrought close together, and the spring is arranged above them. The spacebetween the two pressurechambers is vented by an opening no to preventthe accumulation of pressure between the abutments G and K, which wouldinterfere with the free action of the abutments. It is obvious that thestem may, if desired, be made in two parts united bv an adjustablejoint, as shown in Fig. 5, where the stems H H2 are united by a rightand left hand nut h3. It is also obvious that instead ofone spring twomay be used, as shown in Fig. the stem H or H2 being extended up into acounter bored casing A5, where it is furnished with a pair of nuts toadjust the tension of the upper spring H3.

It is preferable to use two springs instead of one, since one can be setto balance the normal train-pipe pressure and the other the normalmain-reservoir pressure, and each can be independently regulated.

The operation of my device is as follows: Suppose the parts to be asshown in Figs. 4, 4, and 5, the exhaust-valve D being closed and thepump at work. The pressure in thc train-pipe and chamber I and in themain reservoir and chamber l will rise until it IIO reaches the limitsat which t-hesprin gs H and H3 have been set to yield. The stems H andH2 will then move down, unseating the valve D and stopping the pump; butthis will not happen so long as the pressure in either chamber fails tovreach its limit, since the resistance of both the springs H H2 must beovercome. The exhaust-valve D being'open and the pump stopped, thetrain-pipe 4and main-reservoir pressures being at their normal point-sayseventy and ninety pounds, respectivelyv-let a reduction take place inthe main-reservoir pressure from leakage or from using the air for somepurpose. This will destroy the balance between the tension of the springH3 and the pressure on the abut- 'ment K, allowing the unbalancedstrength of the spring to lift the stem, the downward. pressure in thetrain-pipe chamber I being so little in excess of the strength of thespring H that these two forces are almost balanced, and so voffer butvery little resistance to the pull on the stem. Any reduction in themainreservoir pressure will therefore start the pump, even though thepressure in the trainpipe chamber is at its normal, and the pump willcontinue to operate until the normal pressure has been restored in themain reservoir. Again, the exhaustfvalve D being open and the pumpstopped, let the train-pipe pressure be reduced, as by applying thebrakes, or by a leak through a defective joint, or from accidentalrupture of the pipe. The

unbalanced pressure on the abutment (l now becomes less than the tensionof the spring H', which instantly lifts the stem H,` allowing' theexhaust-valve D'to close and the pump to start, supplying to the mainreservoir a surplus pressure above the normal to be availp able to'restore the train-pipe pressure and release the brakes; but thiscondition of things is not permanent during the entire time thetrain-pipe pressure may remain below the normal, for if it remain so forany length of time the surplus liuid-pressure in the main reservoir atlength reaches a point where it will overbalance the surplus strength ofthe springH and move the stems downward,there by stopping the pump; butsince the degree of surplus strength in lthc spring H depends upon theamount of reduction in the pressure that has taken place in thetrain-pipe it is evident that the degree of surplus pressure that mustbe developed in the main reservoir to overbalance the spring l-l willnot always be the same, but will bear a certain fixed ratio to thereduction of pressure in the trainpipe-that is to say, if a reduction offive pounds pressure below the normal in the trainpipe requires anexcess of two pounds above the normal in the main reservoir to stop thepump, then a train-pipe reduction ofltwenty pounds will require anexcess of eight pounds in the main reservoir to accomplish the sameresult; but since it is desirable to restore the normal train-pipepressure as quickly as possible when the brakes are to be released, and

since a greater main-reservoir pressure is required to do this when thetrain-pi pe reduction has been considerable than is required when thereduction in the train-pipe has been moderate, it will be seen that mygovernor automatically meets the requirements of every case and stopsthe pump when and only when the proper main-reservoir pressure has beenattained to quickly restore the normal trainpipe pressure. Theconsumption of steam is therefore exactly proportional to the work thatthe pump has to do, and unnecessary pumping, involving waste of steamand wear of the the upper stern H2 is formed into or provided with aheaded pin L. A anged nut or nipple N slides freely on the pin above thehead Z and is adjustable upon the end of the stem H, where it can belocked bya j ain-nut n. These nuts are accessible through the open sidesof theframe A3 when the slip-cover A is removed.

By means of the anged nut N and headed l 'voir when the train-pipepressure is reduced.

It will be noticed that the vertical play of,` the upper steril H2 isgreater than that of the lower stem H. Suppose the play of the stems tobe, respectively, one-sixteenth and one thirty-second of an inch, thelatter being of course a suflicient amount of movement to open theexhaust-valve. Let the head Z be set, as shown in Fig. l, so that thereis left between it and the stem H a space of one thirty-second of aninch-enough to absorb the entire surplus movement of the upper stem H2.VPut the normal pressure` on the abutment K and it will depress the upperstem H2 until it strikes the lower stem H, the flanged nut allowing thepin L to slide through it. (See Fig. 6.) When the nornial'pressure inthe lower chamber is reached, the lower stem will move down freely athirty-second of an inch and open the exhaust-valve, the stemsremaining' as shown in Fig. 7. The upper stein has a capacity'of furtherdownward movement; but the normal pressure in IOO IIO

chamber I is not sufficient Vto compress the pump at once starts andslowly increases the pressure in the main reservoir above the normal.4Under this increased pressure the abutment K tends to move fartherdownward, but is opposed by the stem Il, which is just touching the headl. The opposing force is due to the unbalanced upward tension of thespring I-I, which has been liberated by the reduction of fluid-pressurein the chamber l. This unbalanced tension holds up the stem H until thesurplus abnormal pressurein the main reservoir has risen high enough toovercome it and torce the two stems downward. As has been previouslystated, this surplus abnormal pressure will always bear a fixed ratio tothe amount by which the train-pipe pressure has been lowered. In thisway the Asurplus main-reservoir pressure is always proportion al to theloss in the train-pi pe pressure, so that the latter can be quicklyrestored when the time comes, and yet no unnecessary work is put uponthe pump.

Should it be desired to vary the ratio between the loss in thetrain-pipe pressure and the corresponding surplus pressure in the mainreservoir, it can be done by means of the flanged nut N, as follows:Suppose the parts to be as shown in Fig. 1. Let the nut N be screweddown until the head l and the stem H come in contact. This puts upon theupper spring H2 an additional compression, owing to the stem H2 havingbeen drawn down one thirty-second o'f an inch. The degree offluid-pressure necessary to move the abutment K has therefore beenraised, and this increase must be overcome by an increased surplus orabnormal pressure in the main reservoir before the exhaiiist-valve canbe opened. Since the anged nut can be adjusted to any point within thisrange of movement of the head l, it is evident that the surplus pressureto be pumped into the main reservoir can be regulated within certainlimits with great nicety, inasmuch as it depends not only upon the lossof pressure in the train-pipe, but also on the amount of extra tensionput upon the upper spring by the nut N.

In case it is desired to operate a throttlevalve which'v requires thestem to Ydescend when the pressure in the chambers is reduced, theconstruction shown in Fig. 2 is available. The relative position of theabutments is here reversed, the larger ones being uppermost, so thatwhen the pressure in either of the chambers is reduced the springs tendto force the stems downward. The upper stem is provided with a set-screwO, tapped into its end and adapted to come in contact with the top ofthe lower stem. A lock-nut P secures the set-screw when it has beenproperly adj usted. The set-screw and lock-nut may also be used incombination with the flanged nut N and headed pin L in the governor,(shown in Fig. 1,) if desired. Such an arrangement as this isillustrated in Fig. 9 and provides for the most delicate adjustment ofthe parts.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s-

l. The combination, with a throttle-valve, of a movable stem adapted tocontrol said valve, the stem being composed of two parts united by aloose joint, permitting each part to have a movement. independent of theother,twe movable abutments subjected to fluid-'pressure and connected,respectively, with the two von the abutment connected with itsrespective stem, andan adjusting device for varying the space betweenthe two stems H H2, substantially as described.

The combination, with the two movable stems H H2, of the headed pin L onone stem and the flanged nut N on the other stem, engaging with saidpin, and the set-screw O, for adjusting the length of one of the stems,substantially as described.

4. An automatic governor for the air-pump of a fluid-pressure brakesystem, consisting of a valve controlling the admission of steam to thepump, a stem controlling the movements of the valve, two movableabutments connected with said stem, one subjected to the main-reservoirpressure and the other to the train-pipe pressure, and one or moresprings connected with said stem and set to balance the normalmain-reservoir pressure and the normal train-pipe pressure,substantially as described.

5. An automatic governor for the air-pump of a duid-pressure brakesystem, consisting of a valve controlling the admission of steam to thepump, a stem controllin g the movements of the valve, said stem beingmade in two independ ently-movablc parts, a movable abutment connectedwith each part and subjected one to the main-reservoir pressure and theothery to the train-pipe pressure, aspringconnected with each part andset to balance the normal pressure on its abutment, and a looseadjustable connection between the two parts of the stem, whereby thereduction of pressure on either abutment will cause the steam-valve tobe opened for a longer or shorter period, substantially as described.

(i. An automatic'governor for the air-pump of a duid-pressure brakesystem, consisting of a valve controlling the admission of steam to thepump, a stem controlling the movements of the valve, said stem beingmade in two independently-movable parts, a movable abutment attached toeach part, one subjected to the main-reservoir pressure and the other toIOC IIO

the train-pipe pressure, the former having au trolled by the train-pipepressure, substanrange of movement in' excess of the latter, a tialiyasdescribed. IO spring' connected with each part of the stem In testimonywhereof I affix my signature in and adj usted to balance the normalpressure presence of two Witnesses.

on its abutmenandan adjustableloose con- JACOB A. STEININGER. neotionunitingthe two parts of the stem, per-V \Vitne'sses: mitting` a playbetween them not greater GEO. B. XVEBSTER,

than the range of movement of the part oon- ROBT. BISSET.

